Friday night, the second half of the Big East schedule commences against the only team in the Big East with a losing overall record, the DePaul Blue Demons. It’s been a struggle in Oliver Purnell’s fourth season on the bench, and it might be about to get worse — Cleveland Melvin, their leading scorer and a preseason second-team All Big East selection, has been indefinitely suspended for an unspecified violation of team rules. He’s missed three straight games, all losses, and will not play tonight.
Melvin had been averaging 16.7 points per game and 6.4 rebounds, and was one of three senior starters. He scored 16 points against Creighton in these teams’ first meeting, grabbing six rebounds and blocking two shots, and did everything he could to keep his team in the game in the first half, as 10 of his points and 4 of his rebounds came before halftime.
His loss is a big one. Sophomore Durrell McDonald initially stepped into his starting role, but after struggling, true freshman R.J. Curington took that spot in their last game. Curlington scored 10 points on 4-12 shooting in the loss to Georgetown, his third straight game in double-figures, and is expected to be back in the starting five tonight. In Melvin’s absence, Curlington has literally emerged out of nowhere, scoring 15 at Seton Hall, 22 against Providence and 10 against Georgetown after scoring 10 total points before that in 24 minutes of action. He had 12 games where he couldn’t even get off the bench, and suddenly he’s the Big East Rookie of the Week.
Second-leading scorer Brandon Young has been asked to shoulder a bigger load without Melvin, and he’s responded with games of 23, 12 and 15. He was the player Creighton struggled the most to stop in the first meeting between these schools — Young had 24 points on 9-16 shooting, dishing out five assists while also turning it over five times. A 6’4″ guard, he’s the only player in DePaul history with 1,200 points, 400 assists and 100 three-pointers, and the first player since the great Rod Strickland to have 100 or more assists in three straight seasons. With 12 more assists this year, he’ll have done it for the fourth straight season, which is a remarkable feat.
With Curlington’s emergence, DePaul’s rotation now features three true freshmen, all of whom have impressed. Their freshmen have earned Big East Rookie of the Week honors six times this year, most of any team, and they’re the first Big East team since 2008 to have three separate freshmen earn the honor in the same season.
Tommy Hamilton IV, a Chicagoland product, has started 20 of the team’s 23 games, and has been a solid player for them in the middle. A 6’10”, 284 pound big man, Hamilton is averaging 8.9 points and 5.4 rebounds a game, and has grabbed 10 or more boards in a game four times. He struggled a bit early on in conference play, but in his last two games, he’s been tough — 13 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 blocks against Providence, 7 points and 10 rebounds against Georgetown — and he now leads all Big East freshman in rebounding and is second in scoring.
The third freshman to get big minutes is Billy Garrett, Jr., a 6’5″ guard from Morgan Park in the far south side of Chicago. He’s started 15 games, averaging 11.9 points and 3.3 assists a game, but had by far his worst game of his young career against Creighton — Garrett was 0-10 from the floor, including 0-7 from three-point range, and had two turnovers in 29 scoreless minutes. That’s quite the anomaly, as he’s scored in double figures in 14 of 23 games. He missed two games (at Seton Hall, vs Providence) last week due to illness, but returned to play against Georgetown and scored 12 points in 23 minutes, making 7-8 free throws in the game. He leads all Big East freshmen in scoring, assists and free-throw percentage. That means DePaul has the top two freshman scorers in the league.
Despite all that young talent, this is a lopsided matchup, to put it kindly: these two teams find themselves on opposite sides of several major statistical categories. Creighton leads the conference with 81.3 points per game, while DePaul surrenders a league-worst 74.3 points per game. The Bluejays lead the league with a +15.8 scoring margin, while the Blue Demons are dead last at -2.7 per game. Creighton shoots a league-best 49.3 percent from the field, while DePaul yields a league-worst 46.5 percent shooting from the opposition. CU leads the way with a 1.77 assist/turnover ratio, while DePaul is last at 0.83. Just one more: Creighton grabs a league-best 27.3 defensive rebounds per game, while DePaul snares a league-worst 22.4 per contest.
To make it worse, DePaul is riding a season-high five game losing streak, and has the bad luck of coming to Omaha on “Lumberjack Night” as the Bluejays honor senior sharpshooter Ethan Wragge. Foam axes and fake beards will be distributed, and fans are being encouraged to wear blue flannel. It should be quite a sight, and with SRO tickets being your only option to get in the door if you don’t already have tickets, it’ll be another packed house. There’s not really a scenario I can envision where DePaul pulls off an upset, which is probably the only time that’s true in Big East play. It’ll be close for a while as Creighton works the rust off following a nine-day break, but don’t expect this one to be in doubt after halftime.
Catching Up with the the Blue Demons: DePaul is 10-13 on the season, including a 2-8 mark in the Big East … The Blue Demons own league wins at Butler and at home over St. John’s, but have lost five consecutive games since then … DePaul averages 71.6 points per game, shooting 43.0 percent from the field, 34.3 percent from three-point range and 68.2 percent at the line … A win would end DePaul’s streak at 47 straight losses against ranked opponents; their last win over a ranked team was an 84-76 victory against No. 17/16 Villanova on Jan. 3, 2008 at Allstate Arena … DePaul is second in the Big East statistical rankings in offensive rebounds (13.1 orpg) and offensive rebound percentage (.355) … DePaul has outrebounded its opponent in 16 games with a 10-6 record in those games, after outrebounding the opponent in 12 games (8-4 record) in the entire 2012-13 season.
One Big Paragraph with Lots O’Dots™: A win would be Creighton’s 99th in the last four years, tying the mark for a four-year span first done from 1999-2003 … Creighton has won every Friday home game it’s played since December 2, 1989 by double-digits, and the last time Creighton lost a Friday home game came on December 12, 1975, when Greg McDermott was 11 years old … Doug McDermott is six rebounds shy of becoming the fourth player in Creighton history with 1,000 rebounds, becoming the 20th player in NCAA history with 2,500 points and 1,000 rebounds and just the second in CU history (Bob Harstad) … Ethan Wragge can climb to 31st place in school history with nine points (passing Reggie Morris).
The RUN-DMD Show: Doug McDermott enters Friday’s tilt with 992 career field goals, eight shy of 1,000. According to research from ESPN, he’s within range to become the nation’s first player in more than 20 years to make 1,000 career field goals. The last time someone made their 1,000th field goal was way back in 1992-93, when Indiana’s Calbert Cheaney (1,018) and Mississippi Valley State’s Alphonso Ford (1,121) both did it.
The RUN-DMD Show, Part Deux: Doug McDermott had 39 of Creighton’s 63 points in last Tuesday’s win over St. John’s. In the last 20 years, it was just the fifth time that a Bluejay had scored 50 percent or more of his team’s points, and the 61.9 percent of CU’s points was the most by any player in those 20 years. Remarkably, it’s the second time Doug’s scored more than half his team’s points, joining last January’s assault on Missouri State when he coincidentally also scored 39 points. The others? Rodney Buford did it twice in that span (40 of his team’s 65 points against Bradley on 12/30/98, 36 of his team’s 72 points against Illinois State on 2/5/96), and Tad Ackerman (25 of his team’s 50 points at Wichita State on 2/23/95).
Out of Context Ron Swanson Quote: “My only official recommendations are US Army-issued mustache trimmers, Morton’s Salt, and the C.R. Lawrence Fein two inch axe-style scraper oscillating knife blade.”
The Last Time They Played: On January 7, Creighton defeated DePaul 81-62 in Chicago. Avery Dingman scored 16 points, including 11 in the second half, to lead the Bluejays to victory on a night both Doug McDermott and Grant Gibbs went down with injuries. Notably, the Jays outscored DePaul 57-34 after Gibbs’ injury.
The Series: Creighton and DePaul met 12 times between 1977 and 1986, but have played just five times since. DePaul owns a 15-8 lead overall, and a 6-2 edge in games played in Omaha.
Gratuitous Linkage: The DePaulia ran an excellent piece on coach Oliver Purnell’s attempts to lay down the law with his team even though suspending several of his best players has made an already tough season even worse, record wise.
This Date in Creighton Hoops History: On February 7, 1991, Creighton nearly blew an 11-point lead on the road at Indiana State before a defensive stand with 13 seconds left turned them back. After CU’s Duan Cole missed a layup with his team up 69-68, Indiana State’s Dewayne Brown drove to the left wing, and as he made his move, Matt Petty — the Bluejay guarding him — fell down. Chad Gallagher gambled, bailed on his defensive assignment, and ran over to challenge the shot, hoping Brown wouldn’t pass it to his now-unguarded teammate. He didn’t, Gallagher was able to alter his shot, and after Bob Harstad rebounded the miss, Creighton escaped with a 71-68 win.
Completely Random, Totally Rad Music Video of the Day: This is a ridiculous song. It has always been a ridiculous song. But it’s so apropos for tonight, what choice do I have?
The Bottom Line: Ethan Wragge chops down a bunch of t(h)rees. Creighton wins by a bunch.
Bluejays 86, DePaul 65